Booking while on board

[boten]

1) Can you book future cruise for RCCL while you are on Celebrity ship?

 

2) If yes, will you still get the onboard credit for the future RCCL cruise?

 

3) Can one book the future cruise for another family member? (Me booking a RCCL cruise for my son while I'm on X)

[tuggers]

1. Yes

 

2. Yes

 

3. Really against the rules but have seen ot done

[Longboysfan]

Ditto.

[thomasale]

is the only bene to this the on board credit you receive?

[flashdog_1]

This is something else to consider: how far out your future cruise is going to be. If you are on board and book a cruise a year ahead I can see where you'd be fine.

 

But if you, for instance, book from home, right now, you have a guaranteed rate, plus any other incentives like senior discounts if they should occur AFTER you've booked. (or if the price falls they tell me they'll give you the lower rate, too).

 

If you wait until you are onboard the next time (in my case it will not be until November to book a march 2007 11 night cruise), you will get that day's rate, which in the case of a few months out, might be higher than if you booked today.

 

Anyone done any comparisons on this? I mean, is it worth it to wait 'til you are onboard, to get the onboard credit over whatever possible rate increases might occur between now and your next cruise where you'd book the future cruise?

 

Right now the rate for the cruise I'm looking at is about the same as a 10 nighter from the same port, so it seems like a good deal.

 

Tuggers, you must have experience with this. since you booked 9 cruises while onboard for a month, I'd guess that you'll vote for waiting!

 

Everyone please let me know your opinion on this subject.

[boten]

Thx for the YES replies, tuggers & longboy.

 

flashdog, my cruise is in April and intending to book on board a cruise in September.

[Andy]

1) Can you book future cruise for RCCL while you are on Celebrity ship?

 

2) If yes, will you still get the onboard credit for the future RCCL cruise?

 

3) Can one book the future cruise for another family member? (Me booking a RCCL cruise for my son while I'm on X)

 

Hi Boten !

 

As the others have said, questions # 1 & 2 are... Yes !

 

About Question # 3....actually, it is not "supposed" to happen. I have asked the Future Cruise consultant many times, and have always been refused. With that said, I suppose you can get lucky, and make it happen. It never hurts to ask, but do not be disppointed if they say no.

 

Enjoy your Cruise !

[Dian]

Phyllis,

While on board the Mercury in June of 2005 in Alaska, we booked a 10 day Mexico trip for Jan of 2006 again on the Mercury. We booked it on board, got the early booking discount ($200), and had them turn our booking over to our travel agent. By the time of the cruise to Mexico our agent had used promotations from Celebrity and reduced our cruise fare by approx. $400 from the original price given to us on board the ship. With the discounts form Celebrity and the on board credit, we saved $600 on that cruise, plus because of early booking we were able to get the same stateroom that we always have. :) :) :)

Diann

[poetic license]

Another benefit to booking onboard: Sometimes you will be able to find out about sailings further in the future that are not yet released. If you have a cabin preference, it makes it liklier you will get it in this instance.

 

Cheers,

[BrendaJ]

Regarding #3: When we were on the Millennium Med in November, we booked a future Caribbean cruise for ourselves and my parents (who were not on the Med cruise with us). I was assured we would all receive the cabin credit. When I later had to switch cabins (due to my parents wanting a different type), I was assured by the person on the phone that both our cabin credits were still applicable. Perhaps this is because we booked a cruise that was more than 12 months away. In any case, I'm glad we got it for both cabins; if we hadn't, we probably would not have booked the cabin for my parents at that time (seeing as we hadn't even asked them if they wanted to come along).

 

Brenda

[flashdog_1]

Brendaj,

I think the way it can be done if you are a couple, is to book one cruise in your name and the other in your partner's name, leaving the 2nd person in each cabin a blank, therefore leaving the room for the other 2 people you are really booking for.

 

When I recently booked on line I booked in my name because I was not certain if my husband or daughter would be accompanying me. The FCA said there should not be a charge for changing a name on a booking, but sometimes it happened, so to just book my name and no change would have to be requested. I'd only add the 2nd passenger name later.

[bob278]

I would think Phyllis' strategy should work.

 

My thoughts on booking early is to book as soon as you know you want to go. That way you lock in the rate, get the better cabin selection and the only cost is that you have the deposit tied up for longer.

 

Then when you are on board, try to book again. If the price has gone up more than the credit you would get, consider booking a "phantom" cruise for the future (if you think you will be cruising within 12-18 months. You can always switch the booking to a cruise you want later and get the credit.

 

If the price has not gone up and you book the same cruise again, if you want to keep the original cabin, just have both reservations turned over to your travel agent and have her/him combine the cabin you want with the booking with the credit. Then you have the rate/cabin/credit all in one. If you can get a cabin you like, cancel the original booking (if a TA is involved, you won't be able to do that until you contact the TA). I have done this before. I even asked for, and got, time to get home before the deposit was due so I didn't have a second deposit tied up. But it would have been worth it for a couple of weeks. Just be sure you have a TA that knows what you want to do and doesn't have their own cancellation penalties.